


Stage Lights

by Itsyaboiy083



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: AU where Jack gets away, All the Smut, Angel (Borderlands) Lives, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blow Jobs, Borderlands: Borderlands 2, Handsome Jack (Borderlands) Being an Asshole, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Jack is an asshole, Leaving the Vault Hunters and Lilith to defeat the warrior, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Rape/Non-con, Plot, Plotty, Singer Rhys AU, Smut, Smutty, Tales From the Borderlands, Triggers, Violence, altered songs, emotionally constipated Jack, mentions songs, old wounds die hard
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-22
Updated: 2020-01-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 22:54:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21896872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Itsyaboiy083/pseuds/Itsyaboiy083
Summary: Word spreads like wild fire in Helios.If it's anything interesting, people talk.While the infamous Handsome Jack enjoys picking off his employees,feeding them to his air-lock, an disgruntled worker mumbles a few words. Rumours.His ego growing, a sickening grin splayed, he amuses himself at the thought.Maybe he'll pay a visit to thisboywho claims to know him, used to be his...previouslover.-Or:After a hideous breakup with Jack, Rhys finds himself writing his feelings. Ultimatelybecoming an up and coming artist going by the alias of "Pumpkin".His songs aren't quite discreet, suggesting Jack is the man he sings about, along with his signature opening, which entails him taking off a replica Jack mask from his face.And if you think the psychotic man himself doesn't know everything, you're dead wrong.Everything circles back to him, and he doesn't quite enjoy loose ends.Especially personal ones'.
Relationships: Handsome Jack/Rhys, Handsome Jack/Rhys (Borderlands)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	Stage Lights

The halls drew in soundless roars of rumours and tales spindled out from within the depths of the Helios spaceship, soundlessly mocking the CEO with it's crazed gossip. Their lips slowly and carefully moved, forming words unable to be heard other than the directed receivers. At times, the workers would giggle and scoff, scanning down the CEO of Hyperion, with shocked gasps and scandalous remarks.  
Whatever brewed up, was either scarily good, or downright air-lock-able. Or so Handsome Jack thought.

The tired man rolled his eyes as he passed by several employees with mischievous grins and darting eyes,  
screaming both "how interesting", and, "bedroom sounds nice...".  
His own last assumption turned into a shiver, disturbing himself. He scoffed, somewhat impressed that he of all people would be disturbed due to employees giving him bedroom eyes.  
Which, in all honesty, seemed to be entirely made up in his head. Though in retrospect, who wouldn't want to sleep with him?

His humoured face turned sour, as he began fully noticing their stares, ego aside. Their grins were sharp and uttered whispers he became frustrated at not hearing.  
Be his ego or his paranoia, he had a feeling their stares were pinned to him in some way.  
He pursed his lips to talk, only to be interrupted by a man dashing his way.

"Sir!" A worker hollered out for the CEO's attention, surprisingly getting it. Jack closed his eyes to secretly roll them, gritting his teeth together.  
With an exasperated sigh, he readjusted himself, laughing to himself.

"Snout!" Jack exclaimed with joyfulness, flushing out his previous mood. He marched over to the short man, throwing his arm over his shoulder.

"S-Sir, we have a very interesting report for y-y-"

"Well ain't you just a ray of sunshine in the morning." He mocked with a cocky grin. "I mean, come on! First day back since your, uh... near _retirement_ , and already you're bombarding me with a stack full of reports!" He scanned the papers the shorter man held in his hands. He grasped at one and scanned it, reading the subjects it held. 'Moonshot cannon blah blah blah', he bore himself by _reading_ it. "I mean don't get me wrong, hun, it's cute, 's very endearing. But could ya at least start by complimenting my rugged good looks?" He deadpanned the last sentence, grinning as he shot the man a stare. 'Snout' nearly pissed himself at the stare, knowing what comes next.  
Jack never stares at an employee directly, without conversation, in their eyes. He began crumpling the page he held in his hand. And though on command, the hall went silent, the atmosphere clouded by intensity.

"I am so-so sorry, sir. P-Please I- You look stunning today, sir." His face became sweaty, his words trembling as a lump formed in his throat. Two weeks seemed to be enough for the man to lose his sense, forgetting just how _intense_ Jack can be first thing in the morning. Jack darted his eyes throughout the man's pupils, scanning them, becoming amused at what he was discovering.

Jack suddenly burst out into a fit of laughter, wiping a non-existent tear from his right eye. "Ohh-ahah- oh **God** that was fun!" He shouted in between fits. "Relax, buttercup, I'm messin' with ya! You really- you really gotta lighten up a bit." He cleared his throat, deadpanning the last part of his sentence. He started up and began walking to his office, wiping his nose with the back of his hand. "read me those reports around, ehh, five. Sound good, Snoutty?"

"Sounds perfect sir. C-completely perfect."

-

Jack spun around in his yellow printed chair, his thumb on his chin as he thought through the subjects of the meeting. The man stared at the spinning ceiling, looking intently at the details.

"Sir?" A Worker started. "You called us in her?"

Jack stopped in his tracks, ceasing the spinning. His hands slammed down on the marble table, higher his head to face the group of select people with a grin.

"Indeed I did!" He scoffed. "Do you know why?" He asked with a sarcastic look upon his face. The employees shook their heads, a look of concern growing on their complexions. 

"You don't? That really is a bummer. It's a shame you numb-skulls can't fess up to your own stupidity." Jack stood up from his chair, adjusting his jacket and pocket-watch. "You five dum-dums over here lost Hyperion a lotta money, lot of— green.” He paused, scanning the faces of the poor employees. They looked scared, and that was a good thing. Being scared of Handsome Jack is the most sane thing anyone could do. “Now I'd understand if you took out some funds from the fundraiser for Pandoran Orphans and whatnot, 'cause trust me I've been redirecting those donations for years, heh!" He chuckled insidiously, planking his hand on the left side of his face to fain whispering. "But from the experimental weapons department? Yikers! That's realll low. And to put a skag licked cherry on top, you took from the Corrosion section! Enough to put end-stage work five steps back. But not those silly-" He stepped five paces from his chair, stepping towards the five, horrified, men. " _Five_ steps back! No, no.. imagine- imagine you're running away from a crazed serial killer, right? This guy is just, he's just _gunning_ it for you, gripping a really _scary_ looking blade. This man really, and I mean _really_ wants your intestines on a pike. The _five steps_ you take, wouldn't be-" He proceeded to take five more smaller steps towards them. "Making pathetic steps like that, now would ya? They'd be more like-" He broke into five strides, stopping just a few more paces away from them, shoulder just inches away from the big red air-lock button. "Leaps, ya'know? And let me tell ya, those were some big ol' **fuckin'** leaps my elemental section had to take." He chuckled mostly to himself, breaking into a low sigh.

“But hey, everyone makes mistakes, right? I mean, I’m sure you didn’t mean it, right?” The employees frantically nodded their heads, trying not to slip out a few nervous smiles or chuckles. “It’s not like you— you took 4 mil to a frickin’ strip club, right?” He laughed, wiping a fain tear from his eye.

“E-exactly, sir! We-we just took it out so we could- so we could..-“ He looked to his _friends_ , all five looking at a loss.

Jack cleared his throat, splaying a sickening smile with wide eyes. “Caught ya, dum-dums!” He exclaimed, pressing the big red, flashing button without any other explanation or second thought. The sealed door opened quickly, vacuuming the victims out, before shutting as quickly as it opened, stabilising the levels of the room. The men screamed in horror, their cries slowly drowning out as the vent form space sucked the air from their weakened lungs. Their bodies slowly shuddered and stilled as their skin began to freeze, biting down on their muscles and entirety, until all that remained of the men were floating, lifeless bodies. Practical ice cubes, drifting endlessly in the sea of the galaxy.

Jack happily sighed, strolling back down to his fancy chair, pressing a medium sized comms button. “Hey, sweets?” He asked. The other side hissed with static, indicating the person had picked up. “Any gross gossip I should know about?” He hums, locking the button, then proceeding to sit in his chair, spinning around childishly in it.

“Well, sir, there isn’t really that much going on. We have checked every news outlet Hyperion can offer, having nothing that would spark your interest.”

“Aw, come on! Surely there’s something a _little_ interesting.” He wiggles a brow.

Digital noises erupt on the other end, presumably from a computer. The clicking noises cease with a interested _hmmm_. 

“It appears a new song artist is performing tonight at an interestingly named club. Goes by the name of _Pumpkin_ and— oh dear.” The personal assistants tone drops.

“What?” He lowly asks.

“Sir, this man he— he claims to be your ex-boyfriend.”

Jack let out a strangled scoff. “What’s his name?” He asks, tone almost like a growl. _Ex-boyfriend_? You’ve got to be joking. He ceased to roll in his chair, swiping a thumb over his jaw.

“It doesn’t say, sir. He has surprisingly been keeping his anonymity. But by scanning his facial structure I’m sure we could find ou—“

“Meg.”

“Yes, sir?”

“Buy me a ticket. Turns out this- this has peaked my interest.” His words roll off with flare, staring intently out his office window.

Whoever this guy was, surely he was joking. He wouldn’t be so stupid as to _slander_ Handsome Jack’s name through frivolous songs... right?

-

Jack slowly made his way to the tall, LED riddled building. Deciding to walk down, considering the distance wasn’t that far away from his parked car. The lights annoyingly glowed with extreme, gouging your eyes with the fluorescents. The bouncer towered over all of the common people in line, his arms crossed over his chest. A big ‘ol dude guarding a club called, “The Pink Skag”? You’ve got to be joking.

The proud man made approached the bouncer, flashing a cocky smile. “Hey, Cupcake, mind stepping aside for your ‘ol pal Jackie?” He cocked a brow, running a hand through his hair.

”Ticket?” He asked.

Jack scoffed, nodding. He looked intently into the other man’s eyes, Jack’s eyes screaming _’I’m not gonna show it to ya, sweetheart. Just for kicks.’_.The bouncer slowly stepped to the left, allowing entrance. Jack made a mental note to bash that guy’s brains in later, just for fun... ya’know, if he wanted to. Just for the hell of it.

As soon as Jack stepped inside, the lights flickered and the beat boomed. This wasn’t some concert hall that hosted local artists, this club had not only a huge functioning stage smack in the middle, but also complimentary lounges and a bar, along with music and private dancing areas separated from the pit. Jack was in awe at how annoyingly yellow and pink it was, let alone vibrant. He could kick himself for not coming up with such an interestingly designed club himself. The very thought hooked a snicker out of him.

Consumed in his thoughts, he hardly heard the introduction of the artist _Pumpkin_. 

“—make some noise for yours truly, Pumpkin!” The DJ roared, setting fire to the crowd. Screams bowled through the stadium/ club, shaking the walls. Jack almost forgot about this part; actually being in the pit to witness his target, this so called _Pumpkin_ guy.

Jack proceeded to roll his eyes, strolling over to near the front of the barricade. He tsk’d, nearly nudging himself over for missing the front, being too held up in admiration of his own ego.

The lights dimmed, the stage lights sprung to life with quiet buzzing. The show was starting, and by God did the room have a heavy aura to it. The feeling was thick like smoke, and suffocated Jack with every short breath he took. It was exhilarating.

The crowd proceeded to scream louder as a slim figured male rouse up from the previously flat stage, sitting atop a black short pedestal. His right hand grasped a Handsome Jack mask, holding it in-front of his face. Jack snickered, feeling the urge to roll his eyes, stuck between doing so and cracking his knuckles. As the people around him pushed and squirmed, excited to see the star, he angrily chose to roll his eyes.

The beat dropped, the music beginning. And finally, the boy dropped his mask, revealing himself to be...

”Holy fuck... Rhys?”

“You know I love it when you say it’s all for me

I know you’re lying but it don’t make a difference.”

**Author's Note:**

> Song used in Chapter:  
> I NEVER EXISTED - Chase Atlantic
> 
> Decided to try this out. This story has been in my mind for a while. :)  
> Hey, maybe this won't flop?  
> Sorry for any grammar mistakes of any kind, and word misspells.  
> Very new to this, far from calling myself a 'skilled' writer of any sorts.  
> I just like to bring my ideas to life haha.


End file.
